Conventional electrical receptacles have two-piece housings formed of separate mating front and back covers held together by fastening elements. A mounting bridge with ears at opposite ends is attached to the housing and allows the housing to be attached to a suitable structure, such as a building wall or an electrical box. In some electrical receptacle designs, the mounting bridge has a generally U-shape so as to wrap around portions of the mated front and back covers of the housing and couple to the front and back covers. In other electrical receptacle designs, the mounting bridge is a relatively flat shape and is sandwiched between the mated front and back covers of the housing.
The mounting bridge can be coupled to the housing separate mechanical fasteners, such as screws or rivets. The use of such fasteners results in a rigidly secured, hard to separate housing, but one which is difficult to assemble. In many situations, it is necessary to assemble multiple housings, each having multiple fasteners, creating a time consuming and tedious job.
Other conventional receptacle housings have a snap-fit design, wherein the front cover snaps to the back cover, sandwiching the mounting bridge between them. Several designs of snap-fit housings for electrical receptacles are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,872,087 to Brant, U.S. Pat. No. 5,510,760 to Marcou et al and U.S. Pat. No. 6,015,303 to Bonilla et al., which are herein incorporated by reference. A design of a snap-fit housing for an accessory strip to an outlet cover plate is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,613,874 to Orlando et al., which is herein incorporated by reference. While these prior art snap-fit designs allow quick assembly of the housing without the use of screws or rivets, they may not afford the degree of assembly integrity, strength and durability required for more demanding applications, such as heavy commercial use or UL hospital grade specifications.
Consequently, a need exists for a more robust housing and mounting bridge assembly for an electrical receptacle that is quick and easy to assemble.